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My house is devoid of musical instruments right now so I will wait to draw EDM#17 until I come across one somewhere — stay posted. Instead I skipped ahead to Challenge #18.

Liz Steel is an architect who lives in Sydney but loves to draw, paint and travel. I have long admired her art which she tells me she just started a few years ago, influenced by Everyday Matters and The Creative License. Now she is a voracious and talented drawer of things, mainly buildings and teacups. Accompanied by her bear, Borromini, she has drawn all over the world and she is just on her way back Down Under after attending the Urban Sketchers symposium in the Dominican Republic.

Liz dropped by my house yesterday and after sharing journals and stories, we sat out on southern terrace and drew the setting sun over Greenwich Village.

Liz draws with a Lamy fountain pen and a palette full of Daniel Smith and Winsor watercolors pans. She works quickly and lightly, stopping to wipe her brush on a sweatband emblazoned with a kangaroo.

She sees clearly and draws the minimum necessary to convey the scene, unencumbered by a need to crosshatch and all sorts of tone into her drawing. The results are as upbeat and fresh as she is.

I was feeling in a regressed sort of mood, I guess, in part because I havent drawn this view in many years, and I pulled out my sack of ten-year old brush markers (later augmented with some Doc Martin’s). The results look like a drawing I might have done in the late 20th century when I first started to draw.

I really enjoyed my visit with Liz — her experience at the Symposium and her worldwide visits with many of the artists I admire but know only through the web inspired me to want to get out and meet more drawing people in person. It’s so great to sit around and talk about pens and folding chairs and share lessons and observations.

I’m also delighted that Liz and her work are going to be in my book, An Illustrated Journey, which I understand will be available in February or thereabouts.

Glad to see the results of a such wonderful meeting between two artist I admire very much. I have had the pleasure to spend the first 3 USK Symposiums with Liz, since we met back in 2010 symposium in Portland, then Lisbon and now having her as part of the teaching staff of the 2012 version in my hometown Santo Domingo. Danny, I have read your books and have been very much inspired by them and your drawings. Seeing you both sharing this passion for drawing and reading this post makes me feel grateful to belong to this great community of online sketchers who travel and meet and draw together whenever is possible… confirming that it is a small world after all! Safe travels Liz and enjoy your time in NY.

What a fantastic team: Danny plus Liz!!! 🙂 I met Liz at Lisbon and she’s a really friendly whirlwind, hehehe! I admire your work as Liz’s one, Danny, and I try everyday to learn more of you both. Thanks for sharing your drawings and ways for doing them.
Have fun!

Danny, both you and Liz have been inspirational to me these past few years! ‘Everyday Matters’…your book and the Flickr Group helped form my passion to begin journaling. I first met Liz through an online journaling class with Cathy Johnson (another sketching hero of mine). The worldwide sketching community is thriving and growing…and it is wonderful when traveling journalers can get together in person. Wish I could have joined in on the sketching session on your terrace!

To those that like Liz’s sweatband…just cut off the top of an old sock, then fold the top into halves or thirds…makes a great ‘free’ cuff.

[…] to in a long while. So off I go to check out Danny Gregory and who is he talking about on his blog, well he is talking about getting to meet and sketch with Liz Steel. So I went over to her blog […]